Notes
Saratoga Invitational 2014, on a 6k layout. 14 team invite + the world renowned RPI alumni team. Very competitive field featuring SLU, Williams, NYU, and Ithaca. First race of the season so looking to go out and run hard and get a confidence booster. Pretty confident going into the race, not feeling stellar on the warmup but was still ready to go. Didn't get out that great, went out probably at my race pace and ended up getting caught in the masses when the field converged. The first turn into the woods was pretty scary, people were going down hard and everyone came to an almost standstill for a second. Once the congestion thinned a little I started moving up through the field without too much difficulty though. I'd say I was moving up for pretty much the whole race. Found the alumni group of Pat/Jarrett/Jeff/Paul and ran with them to the pool before the group splintered into just me chasing Jarrett. Didn't really feel great at all during the first 2-2.5 miles of the course, but as mentioned I was moving up through the field and got a decent rhythm going. Still I was doubting myself a bit going into Ferndale, worried that I was too tired already and that I wouldn't be able to handle it. Actually felt pretty good through most of the hill but definitely struggled on the steep part at the end. When I got to the top I thought I was toast, legs very heavy and I didn't think I had anything left. BUT, I had planned in advance for this and told myself that no matter how I felt going up Ferndale I had to pick up the pace at the top. I gave myself a good 200m or so surge and caught a few people and realized that although I was tired I could keep pushing to the end. Felt like I was going hard the last mile, hit that last 600m straightaway and really tried to step on it and make sure that no one passed me. For 400m I was running strong and even passing some people. In the last 100-200 though people found their final gear and I got blown out by Cish, Garrett, Colin, and PAT!
While it certainly wasn't all that I had hoped for (I thought I was in shape to break 20), definitely fairly pleased with this race. Time and place wise it was almost certainly my best ever XC race. This time last year was the 6k at Hamilton (one of my best races of the season, and the second race) and I ran 20:27 for 10th on the team. This year I was 17 seconds faster (different course but appeared to run similar) and was 8th on the team (3 seconds out of 5th). Purdy gives it a 27:26 8k which is faster than my best even at the questionable Bard course. Last year @ SPAC I was 83/170, so I placed higher this year despite it being a larger, better field.
So a good race but certainly not one to be satisfied with; just a solid start to the season. It was a rust buster for sure, and legs were definitely a little tired going in, but that's as it should be. Developing confidence in my xc ability, I think today I could have been way more aggressive in the middle half of the course. Was very happy with how I responded and pushed through the last mile, now just need to get myself to really close it out. Paul last year at Hamilton was 8th on the team w/ a 20:10, so I'll be looking for a 26:4x next weekend!
Team-wise I think this race showed what we already knew - we have the potential to be a force but there's a ways to go yet. Got spanked by SLU, Williams, and NYU, handled pretty easily by Ithaca and ALMOST taken out by Hamilton (w/o Pfander!). Jake/Faz/Brian all will only improve for sure, but we badly need to close the gap from Brian to our next pack. Confident that we will get there,